Efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in Dental Phobia

Dental Phobia Clinical Trial

— EMDR-DP  

Official title:

A Randomized Wait-list Control Study of the Efficacy of Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) in Patients With Dental Phobia

Clinical Trial Details — Status: Completed

Administrative data

• NCT number: NCT01207960
• Other study ID #: 2007-137-f-S
• Status: Completed
• Phase: N/A
• First received: June 29, 2010
• Last updated: May 3, 2012
• Start date: January 2010
• Est. completion date: September 2011

Study information

• Verified date: May 2012
• Source: University Hospital Muenster
• Contact: n/a
• Is FDA regulated: No
• Health authority: Germany: Ethics Commission
• Study type: Interventional

Clinical Trial Summary

The purpose of this study is to find out whether Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) is effective in the treatment of patients with dental phobia.

Description:

Dental phobia represents a clinical condition that affects 5-15% of the community and is characterized by severe anxiety of dental treatment which leads to avoidance of treatment and, as a consequence, severe dental as well as psychosocial problems.

Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR) has been developed for the treatment of patients with post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Its efficacy in PTSD patients has often been demonstrated in randomized controlled trials.

Recently it has been demonstrated that dental phobia is often induced by traumatic events during dental treatment and goes along with symptoms of PTSD in numerous patients.

A pilot study (de Jongh et al. 2002) gave hints on the efficacy of EMDR in four dental phobia patients with a history of traumatization during dental treatment.

This randomized wait-list control study aims to evaluate the efficacy of EMDR in a larger sample of dental phobia patients.

Recruitment information / eligibility

• Status: Completed
• Enrollment: 24
• Est. completion date: September 2011
• Est. primary completion date: September 2011
• Accepts healthy volunteers: No
• Gender: Both
• Age group: 18 Years to 75 Years

Eligibility

Inclusion Criteria:

• dental phobia according to the World Health Organization´s International Classification of Diseases, ICD-10 (F40.2)

Exclusion Criteria:

• schizophrenic disorder

• severe depression

• severe dissociative disorder

• organic brain disease

• anorexia nervosa (body mass index, BMI < 17)

• suicidality

• severe cardio-vascular disease

• ophthalmic disease

• pregnancy and lactation

• psychopharmacological treatment

• substance abuse

Study Design

Allocation: Randomized, Endpoint Classification: Efficacy Study, Intervention Model: Parallel Assignment, Masking: Open Label, Primary Purpose: Treatment

Related Conditions & MeSH terms

• Dental Phobia
• Phobic Disorders

Intervention

Behavioral:
• Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)
The intervention consists of three 90-minute sessions of individual psychotherapy. Sessions take place weekly according to a treatment manual.

Locations

Country	Name	City	State
Germany	Psychosomatics in Dentistry, Dept. of Prosthodontics & Material Science, University Hospital Muenster	Muenster

Sponsors (1)

Lead Sponsor	Collaborator
University Hospital Muenster

Country where clinical trial is conducted

Germany, 

References & Publications (2)

de Jongh A, Fransen J, Oosterink-Wubbe F, Aartman I. Psychological trauma exposure and trauma symptoms among individuals with high and low levels of dental anxiety. Eur J Oral Sci. 2006 Aug;114(4):286-92. — View Citation

De Jongh A, van den Oord HJ, ten Broeke E. Efficacy of eye movement desensitization and reprocessing in the treatment of specific phobias: Four single-case studies on dental phobia. J Clin Psychol. 2002 Dec;58(12):1489-503. — View Citation

Outcome

Type	Measure	Description	Time frame	Safety issue
Primary	Dental anxiety	Dental anxiety is assessed by the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Dental Fear Survey (DFS).	4 weeks	No
Primary	Dental anxiety	Dental anxiety is assessed by the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Dental Fear Survey (DFS).	3 months	No
Primary	Dental anxiety	Dental anxiety is assessed by the Dental Anxiety Scale (DAS) and the Dental Fear Survey (DFS).	12 months	No
Secondary	General psychopathology	General psychopathology is assessed by the Brief Symptom Scale (BSI).	4 weeks, 3 months, 12 months	No
Secondary	Anxiety and depression	Anxiety and depression are assessed by the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS).	4 weeks, 3 months, 12 months	No
Secondary	Behavioral test	Dentral anxiety is assessed during a dental visit before and after treatment/wait-list control condition by means of a standardized behavior obeservation and interview.	4 weeks	No
Secondary	Dental treatment	Does the patient tolerate dental treatment within 3 and 12 months after Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing (EMDR)?	3 months, 12 months	No